Marymoor Village Design Guidance and Standards

Rendering of Marymoor Village by Magellan Architects

Project Purpose

The City’s vision and zoning regulations allow for Marymoor Village to develop over time from a mixture of manufacturing, education, distribution, industrial, religious facilities, and some commercial uses to a neighborhood incorporating commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily development with a light rail station, scheduled to open in 2024.  

To realize the vision of Marymoor Village as an urban, mixed-use “village,” the City Council directed staff during their April 2017 study sessions to develop design standards for new construction in Marymoor Village. Councilmembers directed that new development and design standards should reflect the proximity to Marymoor Park and allow for eclectic, creative design with the objective being to avoid repetition and sameness, including encouraging flexibility/innovation.

The purpose of the Marymoor Village Design Standards and Guidelines project is to provide a vision and design guidance for the qualities and characteristics of the architecture, urban design and public spaces within this neighborhood. The standards and guidelines will be written and illustrated tools for guiding primarily new construction (but also adaptation of existing buildings that exceed a certain threshold). They are intended to provide clarity for project applicants and reviewers/regulators as projects move through the design review and permitting process.

Project Schedule

UPDATE:  This project has been split into two components that have been combined with other projects.  The Zoning Code rewrite will address a number of adjustments to the currently adopted standards and the area will be reviewed and updates with the Redmond 2050 Comprehensive Plan updates.  This project is no longer a stand-alone project.  

Redmond Zoning Code Rewrite

Enhancing usability and clarity

Improvements are occurring to the the structure of the zoning code itself, along with a number of clarifications and updates that will establish a solid foundation for additional changes in the coming years that continue to simplify and improve usability and will implement the updates to the Comprehensive Plan.

Redmond 2050-stacked-K

Marymoor Village policy and code updates underway  

Redmond 2050 builds on the progress our city has made and - with your input - will guide the vision of our city going forward.

Updates to the Marymoor Village will be considered in Phase 2 of the Redmond 2050 project, and will include updates to the zoning, development standards, as well as a SEPA Infill Exemption.  

Learn more about the changes proposed for Marymoor Village as part of Redmond 2050. 


Design Principles for Marymoor Village

The following Design Principles were developed to inform the Design Standards and Guidelines based upon the responses to the Visual Preference Survey and the Community Visualization Workshop. These were reviewed with City Council in May 2019.

Creativity

Marymoor Village is a community of innovation and creativity. Surrounded by technology centers, Marymoor attracts workers and residents of all ages, cultures, and interests who engage in innovative ideas and problem solving, allowing for a diverse and creative population.  Active streets with a diversity of uses, storefronts, and art incorporated into public and private spaces reinforces and anchors this unique neighborhood in its geography and context. 

Variety

Marymoor Village is a place for a mix of housing and business choices. Zoning and allowed typologies of housing and commercial buildings accommodate 1) a variety of housing types (flats, townhouses, live-work units, micro-units, etc.) and affordability levels; and 2) a variety of workspaces, retail and restaurant options as well as accommodating needed local services such as daycare, creative workspaces and goods.

Connectivity

Marymoor Village ensures a high quality of life for its community members by providing a highly functional and supportive Access & Mobility Network. The new neighborhood is an integral part of the community with seamless connections through light rail, public transit and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure systems.  An easily-navigable pattern of small blocks, streets, alleyways and urban trails provide direct pedestrian and bike connections, making a 20-minute walk experience safe and enjoyable for all.  

Accessibility

Marymoor Village is welcoming and family-friendly. Designs for both public and private improvements and structures provide access to people of all ages, abilities interests, particularly including children, elderly, and those with restricted mobility or abilities (universal accessibility).

Healthy Community

The Marymoor Village urban form and public realm embraces a healthy lifestyle, in part due to its proximity to the Marymoor Regional Park. Land uses, structures and open spaces embrace a human scale and walkable community. Tree-lined corridors and parklets provide wide sidewalks with places to sit. Built structures are designed around health and wellness, built to last, with future generations in mind.

Sustainable Design

Designers, builders and developers consistently demonstrate integrated design solutions aimed at long-term, sustained development practice. They consider sustainable best practices, ecological, environmental, social equity, indoor health and economic development measures. 

Distinctive Character

Marymoor Village is a transit-oriented neighborhood that supports a variety of places to live, work and shop. The mix of uses embraces a variety of new business opportunities, existing local businesses and active street-level retail experiences balanced with ground-level residential and live-work units. Built structures are diverse in form and employ design techniques that avoid sameness. Individual structures, blocks and streets vary in scale, form, massing and character. Finish building materials and colors are consciously selected to express individuality in buildings and a richness that is distinctive of Marymoor Village.

Adaptability

Marymoor Village evolves over time. A focus on adaptability is reflected in the neighborhood’s distinctive character, styles, building materials and construction practices. These contribute to the diverse design objectives, including adaptive reuse of existing buildings, that help set this community apart from other locations in Redmond and beyond.

Project Milestones

April & May  2019 - Marymoor Village Visual Preference Survey

The Visual Preference Survey provided an additional opportunity for the community and stakeholders to further inform design standards and guidelines for Marymoor Village's future street and neighborhood character, building typologies, and architectural design.  

November 15, 2018 - Marymoor Village Visual Preference Survey Event

Approximately 35 people participated in the Visual Preference Survey Event, helping to further inform design standards and guidelines for Marymoor Village's future urban structures, blocks, and neighborhood character, building typologies, and architectural design.  

October 25, 2018 - Marymoor Village Community Visualization Workshop

The Marymoor Village Design Guidance and Standards project team held its first community workshop on Thursday, October 25.  The event offered opportunities for participants to envision a new look and feel of Marymoor Village - this included identifying unique attributes of the neighborhood and considering a variety of urban design topics such as building and parking design, public spaces, and placemaking.

The results of this event assisted VIA in developing material for the next phase - a visual preference survey and event.  For additional information, refer to the Visioning Event Summary pages:

Visioning Event Summary

Community Visioning Event Summary for the development of Marymoor Village Design Guidance and Standa Opens in new window

Visioning Event Summary - Participants discussed the following topics

Community Visioning Event Summary List for development of Marymoor Village Design Guidance and Stand Opens in new window

Visioning Event Summary - Discussion topics by category

Community Visioning Event Summary Word Cloud for development of Marymoor Village Design Guidance and Opens in new window

Visioning Event Summary - Take Aways

Community Visioning Event Summary Take Aways for development of Marymoor Village Design Guidance and Opens in new window

Project Background

City Council’s direction to develop the design guidance and standards was follow up to their adoption of the Southeast Redmond Neighborhood Plan (2014) and the Marymoor Subarea and Marymoor Local Center designation (2017) and approval of Resolution 1415 that includes allowance for the continued economic vitality of existing and future manufacturing uses and encouraging the reasonable expansion, modification and re-lease of existing properties over the useful economic life.

Marymoor Project Update

The approved zoning incorporates a transition strategy that expands zoning in four Marymoor Design Districts (1, 2, 4, and 5), allowing for additional uses including residential and commercial while maintaining support for the current manufacturing park uses.

The City Council's 2017 approvals also included declaring the name of Marymoor Village, and adopting the Marymoor Subarea Infrastructure Planning report as an administrative implementation document which includes street standards and general utility plans for the neighborhood to serve future development.